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Ms McEwan said she had been very close to her brother during their childhood but he had become withdrawn and angry in recent years.

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The court heard Ms McEwan told a friend on Facebook the night her brother was arrested that he had "serious mental health issues".

"He was not sober when it happened and he says he was possessed," the Facebook message said.

"I believe him, and he has been showing signs of this ever since he was 16."

In a teary testimony, Ms McEwan said she just tried to make people know it wasn't really her brother.

"I didn't want people to think he was a horrible person because he's not," she said.

The court has heard it is not in contention that McEwan killed Ms Ban, but the trial is necessary to determine his mental state at the time and whether or not relevant legal defences, such as insanity, apply.